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When cattle feeder Todd Wilkinson starts filling his pens, he has a specific animal-type in mind. It’s based on what he wants to market to the packer.

"I buy probably 90% of our cattle right off the ranch so I'm looking for an animal that's going to perform that's going to have the ability to let me hit the April market for instance with that Foghat that I'm going to pick up here in just a few weeks and and I'm looking for an animal that's kept a great genetics that can make me hit a premium I'd I need to get that choice and Prime in the ca bees because that's the program our operation is in."

The family works with nine backgrounding yards that get the calves ready for the feedyard, and they track them all the way through. He says, that teamwork not only improves the cattle, but also those relationships…

"I have a lot really want to know cuz they never get to hear it, you know, it they taking sell and animal they don't know what happens and they like to know what they're efficiencies are, what the rate of gain is. just how that animals performing."

When everybody has their eye on the end goal, it makes everybody more profitable.